I was going to post with this question: “What purpose does McCain serve?”

Well, there isn’t enough of him to scrap dog dung off the bottom of your shoes (his only conceivable useful purpose), so I guess his only function is to occupy a Republican Seat and stab Republicans, Americans and Veterans in the back.

Jane, he has been doing that his entire career. He totally abandoned the POWs, he is a disgusting man and he spent $20 million to defeat JD Hayworth. He didn’t just defeat the man, he destroyed him. There is a special place in hell being warmed up for John McCain.

13
posted on 10/28/2011 8:00:35 PM PDT
by McGavin999
("Make what Americans buy, Buy what Americans make, and sell it to the world" Perry 2012)

figures, just as my husband is nearing Tricare age, and we really need it because right now I pay several hundred dollars for him alone each month...and he's rarely sick...

I fully believe that changes need to be made in military benefits...for one, not paying retirement pensions until age 60, which is good enough for the guard and reserve, and almost all of those guys have active years in the past....

I wish we had a bold president who would demand that all of congress and all of the federal govt including the president himself will be under the same no frills health plans....right now, we know who's getting the shaft and it ain't them....

The point is, though, that the money is not there. People have voted for politicians who promised them the moon and now the country is broke. This is only the beginning of cuts that will have to be made. Nobody is going it like it, but it’s reality.

26
posted on 10/28/2011 10:26:22 PM PDT
by Pining_4_TX
( The state is the great fiction by which everybody seeks to live at the expense of everybody else. ~)

No, the money is not there, even for that. The country really is broke. With the large number of wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, the costs are going to explode over the coming decades. I understand people’s anger over this, but all the promises made to veterans (and everybody else) over the years cannot be kept.

Anyone who believes he can rely on government for help is going to be sorely disappointed. Pols pay lip service to veterans, but they have no more concern for them than they do anyone else.

28
posted on 10/28/2011 10:41:41 PM PDT
by Pining_4_TX
( The state is the great fiction by which everybody seeks to live at the expense of everybody else. ~)

Hey, we don’t have money for anything. Everything that is being spent now is borrowed or printed. It doesn’t seem to matter what the people want. The politicians are doing whatever they want. It’s insane.

30
posted on 10/28/2011 10:45:10 PM PDT
by Pining_4_TX
( The state is the great fiction by which everybody seeks to live at the expense of everybody else. ~)

Heck! we could go back and forth for days naming useless wasteful expenditures of money before we even got to one that had a little merit. Even then most of them have no justification for being federal expenditures.

But the military is under the Constitutional mandate to provide security and our vets, at minimum, should have their health care taken care of. As a debt of honor to them not an entitlement.

33
posted on 10/28/2011 11:38:42 PM PDT
by TigersEye
(Life is about choices. Your choices. Make good ones.)

What a complete a$$.... I have lost what little respect I had left for this sell out. He mine as well switch parties. The guy is back stabbing Vets. What a jerk!

The Dems want him right where he's at. He sits on critical GOP committees and is the DEMs useful idiot in that position. No not really idiot. McCain willingly sells out conservatives & he does it on purpose. I don't know which annoys me more on TV though him or Valley Girl McCain who has somehow became a so called political commentator it seems by simply being related to John McCain.

36
posted on 10/29/2011 2:53:23 AM PDT
by cva66snipe
(Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?)

“............I fully believe that changes need to be made in military benefits...for one, not paying retirement pensions until age 60, which is good enough for the guard and reserve, and almost all of those guys have active years in the past....”

Ah, one big difference. Most guard and reserve folks have a civilian career during their service years.

A luxury active folks can't indulge in.

That means at 38-42 a new retiree is unemployed and looking for work.

And the rules for both active and reserve were known to the individual prior to signing up.

Any changes made to this system will not be felt until years down the road. The only “good” (sarcasm)I see coming is some military savings that will be shifted to welfare areas.

10 to 15 years down the road there will be a retention problem with mid-level NCOs and Officers - which the politicians will claim can be fixed with a draft.

Of course nobody will ask the stupid question “How does a 2 year draft fix the problem of a 10 year time in service NCO getting out?” But the key will be to drop pay during those first two years - again saving money.

Get back with me in 15 years and see who was right.

38
posted on 10/29/2011 4:44:30 AM PDT
by PeteB570
( Islam is the sea in which the Terrorist Shark swims. The deeper the sea the larger the shark.)

My experience with the Senator’s office for the past seven years has accomplished zip. I am referring to obtainimg support to WWII veterans for recognition towards combat service.
Seems the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), Article 92. Failure to obey order or regulation has no meaning. I cannot locate anyone to enforce it.
Thus, there is no justice for WWII veterans going to their graves without recognition for contributing towards the freedom we all enjoy, today.

Try our congress critters, they are pretty good, our senators are both pretty useless for Arizona constituants. They're in DC to serve themselves.

Robert, I will say this to you though. Whether or not our government recognizes those men, most of this country DOES recognize it, so though they may appear to go to their graves unappreciated, they have the hearts and respect of their fellow Americans. It may not seem to helf on this side, but when they get to the other side, they will find out just how much they mattered.

40
posted on 10/29/2011 8:34:39 AM PDT
by McGavin999
("Make what Americans buy, Buy what Americans make, and sell it to the world" Perry 2012)

I personally spoke twice to Congressman Trent Franks (AZ)regarding WWII veterans. Again, the word zip comes in the picture.
So, with the help from a retired JAG Colonel, USAFR, currently a civilian attorney in the valley, a few of the qualified WWII veterans are receiving the Purple Heart in accordance with.

If this is true, it will really screw many of our retired NCO’s who already manage with limited benefits. Given the increases that are coming, outside of Tricare Prime, the coverage will be half-assed and almost not worth participating in.

Looking to kick retirees out of TRICARE Prime, Sen. McCain told the 12-member Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction, that restricting working-age retirees and their families from participating in TRICARE Prime would help them avoid spending cuts that would directly impact readiness.

As Tom Philpott recently reported, McCain was once a champion for expanded TRICARE benefits to retirees. But, he now feels eliminating retiree TRICARE Prime is more acceptable than alternatives to cut equipment, training or key weapon programs needed by the current force.

In addition, McCain supports President Obamas proposal to set a $200 a year enrollment fee for TRICARE for Life, for military beneficiaries age 65 and older.

If with only TRICARE Standard, retirees would face higher out-of-pockets costs, annual deductibles and cost-sharing requirements. Under TRICARE Standard out-of-pocket costs cant exceed an annual catastrophic cap. But according to Philpott, the CBO suggests raising that cap of $3000 a year per family to $7500.

In addition the CBO predicts that the number of working-age military retirees using TRICARE would drop form 71 percent to 35 percent they were denied access to TRICARE Prime. The CBO also assumes that retirees would switch to their employer-provided health care option.

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